How Long-Range Hunting Works

Long-range hunting has its opposition, from both the outside and the hunting worlds. Because many hunters chose to follow Fair Chase ethics, they don't participa­te in long-range hunting. Fair Chase states that a hunter shouldn't have an unfair advantage over the animal he or she is hunting. The technology needed for long-range hunting is seen as an unfair advantage by many, giving this method an unethical reputation.

­Most hunters aim for a clean, quick kill, but that means hitting the target prey in a very specific area. How are they to do this from several hundred yards away? Missing the small kill zone means that animal will suffer a slow, painful death or maybe not even die. And though a bad shot at close range allows the possibility to go after the animal and finish the job, tracking down an animal hundreds of yards away is impossible. In addition, a bullet to certain areas will only hurt the animal but allow it to continue living an impaired life.

As mentioned, there is a lot of technology needed for long-range hunting and it's believed that a majority of hunters don't fully understand the different variables [source: Zumbo]. In these cases, the risk of just injuring an animal is very high. An untrained hunter attempting long-range hunting can be compared to throwing a hail Mary pass in football.

While this method of hunting doesn't pack the moral punch of some controversial methods, there's certainly a strong argument for both sides. For now, we'll just have to see what conflict new technology brings us in the future.

Military Influence

While rifles are present in households today, mostly for the purpose of hunting, history shows there was another strong influence in the evolution of guns. In an 1864 letter to the editor of the New York Times, an American citizen urges the military to brush up on their skills and work to bring American rifles up to the standards of other European countries. The citizen feared that countries that made rifle shooting a recreational activity were slowly going to become more proficient and therefore stronger enemies of the untrained Americans [source: S. P.].